The Legislature should enact an automatic payroll deduction savings system for the state's private-sector employers.

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New York lawmakers are staring at a crisis that threatens the security of millions of the state's residents, one that can easily be fixed.

The crisis is this: Millions of Americans, many within a few years of retirement age, have saved little or nothing for what should be their golden years. A survey released last week by GOBankingRates.com, an online personal finance site, found most Americans falling short in saving enough for a comfortable retirement. More than half said they had either nothing or less than $10,000 saved for retirement. Among those over the age of 54, with normal retirement age barely a decade way, 28 percent have no savings.

Fortunately, there is something New York can do at least for workers with a little more time to prepare. Five other states have passed legislation automatically enrolling workers in a deferred savings retirement plan. Under these programs, a small portion of a worker's pay — usually 3 percent — is automatically deposited into a professionally managed Individual Retirement Account which can be transferred to the person's next job. While employees can opt-out, studies show up to 90 percent participate.

Over time, these small contributions grow so that by retirement, people have substantial savings to combine with their Social Security entitlement, which by itself is insufficient to provide a secure retirement.

Such savings plans are especially important now as more employers drop pension plans. A recent survey by AARP New York found more than half of the state's approximately 7 million private sector employees lack a pension or 401(k) retirement savings plan at work. While most pension plans are sound, some, such as the Teamsters pension program, have found that shrinking membership has left them with insufficient funds to provide the expected payouts.

In New York, legislation to start an automatic retirement savings program has strong bipartisan support in the Assembly, and some key senators are also on board. Private companies would bid to manage these accounts, similar to the way the state's successful 529 college savings plan works.

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Some, including the state Business Council, oppose the legislation, arguing it's just another costly government regulation. Yet, AARP New York says it has been assured by private payroll service vendors that managing this new deduction would only cost a company about $10 per pay period. For a business with 100 workers, that's an average of 10 cents per employee each paycheck. The costs to launch a state system would be in the range of $1 million — a small price considering the security it would provide to millions of state residents.

With the state budget due in less than two weeks, and the rush afterward to wrap up the annual legislative session, this measure could easily get set aside, as it did last year. Why lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo would perpetuate a crisis they could readily solve, we can't imagine.